Metro Jacksonville

Mitsuo Fuchida (淵田 美津雄 Fuchida Mitsuo?, 3 December 1902 – 30 May 1976) was a Japanese captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and a bomber aviator in the Japanese navy before and during World War II. He is perhaps best known for leading the first air wave attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Working under the overall fleet commander, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the entire aerial attack.

QuoteWere the Japanese Crazy?
Insights from an encounter in San Francisco in 1925 of the man who ultimately led the attack on Pearl Harbor

January, 1925. San Francisco Bay.

(Mitsuo Fuchida was on a final training mission following his graduation from the Naval Academy in Japan, a journey that eventually took him to the harbor of San Francisco. Despite slowly building tensions, the two nations retained their relationship forged during the First World War).

The biting wind ruffled the navy blue pants of Fuchida and Genda as they stood motionless in a crisp "at ease" posture, hands behind their backs along the rail with the entire crew spaced evenly down the length of the cruiser Yakumo. Three American warships escorted their ship and two other cruisers into the San Francisco Bay as seagulls called from above.

Fuchida studied the stark white, brand new U.S. battleships, guns proudly cocked into the sky at their maximum angle, then wistfully glanced at their own three aging Japanese cruisers breathing smoke from triple stacks.

Fuchida whispered to Genda, "Look at us in our old smoky rust buckets! And look at the West Virginia, the pride of the American fleet. It's humiliating!"

"Relax," Genda whispered. "You have to ride an ox before you can ride a horse." Genda grinned.

Fuchida smoldered.

Two days later, the captain assigned Fuchida to escort a group of Japanese civilians, mostly farmers, who came to tour the Yakumo. As they stood listening to Fuchida's little speech about the ship, the farmers kept looking off at the stately, new West Virginia.

"Midshipman, are there any battleships like that in Japan?"

"Yes, of course, we have a very modern fleet with brand new battleships, just like the American battleships." Fuchida smiled, carefully concealing his own feelings.

"Then why didn't you bring one of those instead of this? It's so old it's embarrassing! It'll only create more prejudice against us."

"Well, you see, this is simply a training ship for young graduates." He paused. "What do you mean – more prejudice?"

Another man pushed forward, "They've passed laws against the Japanese, preventing us from immigrating here or owning land. Now we've lost our farms."

Another blurted out, "And we can't even defend ourselves in court. We're not allowed to testify. It's not fair!"

"Why would they do that?" he said.

Still another pulled out several newspapers and waved them in the air. "Look at this. See what they write about us!"

Fuchida took the papers and with a shake flattened them out: "Japanese a Menace to American Women" and "The Yellow Peril – How Japanese Crowd Out the White Race." A wave of shock, disgust, and even fear came over him as he scanned the papers. From behind, one of the men tapped Fuchida on the arm and held out a matchbox: "White Men & Women – Patronize Your Own Race!" Fuchida looked out across the bay. Having come to the shores of the great United States for the first time in his life, he felt like he had been slapped in the face.

"No one speaks up for you?" Fuchida asked.

"A few businessmen and some churches, but can't you do something?"

The group all turned to look at Fuchida, ambushed by an ugly truth for which he had no response. His years of focused training at the naval academy had kept him from lifting his eyes to see the dark clouds gathering in the distance.

After the tour, Fuchida stood upright on the dock at the base of the gangplank as the small group left, shaking the hand of each visitor and giving a slight bow; each likewise bowing in return.

As the farmers continued down the dock, three young American sailors in their white uniforms, blue neckerchiefs, and hats cocked to just the right angle approached from the opposite direction, towering over the Japanese farmers. The sailors came to an abrupt halt, looked over the aging cruiser, then at the men.

"Hey, Chinaman! Ching chow yung pang!"

The farmers peered up at the sailor in confusion.

"You call that a ship? We use stuff like that for target practice!"

Another sailor made hand gestures of guns shooting, then tilted his arm like a sinking ship complete with sound effects. His buddies snickered and shook their heads.

Fuchida didn't hear every word, but he completely understood their message. The farmers looked back helplessly at Fuchida, his nostrils flaring like a caged animal being pelted with pebbles by ignorant, fearless children.

(The West Virginia was the first ship sunk at Pearl Harbor. This is an edited excerpt from "Wounded Tiger," a nonfiction novel about the true story of the pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, whose life was changed by an American prisoner and by a girl he never met. You can read the first four chapters for free, preorder the book, and learn more here: http://bit.ly/1htFHoQ)

A great thing now Ock, is that our family had a big get together and dinner at Kanki - on San Marco.

What day did we get together at the Japanese Steakhouse?

December 7th. Pearl Harbor Day.

The issue isn't that no cared about PH Day. The great thing was that we could go with no animosity, no conversations about the past. We could dine, enjoy and take part of the culture without any of the snide remarks like the sailors did towards us, or towards them. Our liberty and freedom were defended with honor. But here we are in our free world still able to share in a unique culture.

I have stood on the USS Missouri on the very spot where the surrender of arms was signed. It means alot to those who served and those who died to make it happen.

It not only defined our service, but it defined our future. Everyday we live in peace with our allies the Japanese is a testament to those who sacrificed so much.

Well said. +++1000

Same here. I have a Japanese Naval officers sword surrendered to my father, and a dear Japanese friend (a TV producer) and his wife that has spent countless evenings with my wife and I over a Japanese-Colombian-American meal discussing ways to figure out who it really belonged to. The intent? One of my fathers dying wishes... Return it to the honorable man (or his family) that surrendered it to me.

Quote from: Ocklawaha on September 06, 2014, 11:54:13 PM
Well said. +++1000

Same here. I have a Japanese Naval officers sword surrendered to my father, and a dear Japanese friend (a TV producer) and his wife that has spent countless evenings with my wife and I over a Japanese-Colombian-American meal discussing ways to figure out who it really belonged to. The intent? One of my fathers dying wishes... Return it to the honorable man (or his family) that surrendered it to me.

If you could actually make that happen I am sure it would be life changing not only for you, but the other family as well.

My grandfather was on a destroyer & fought in and around Okinawa. They were the sister ship of the Indianapolis. He was in Hiroshima on a clean-up crew less than a week after the bomb fell.

He took me to Japan to see the sites and tell me about the war in the Pacific. It was an experience I will never forget.

He has friends in Japan, some who fought in the war against the US. One of his best friends, Yoshiaka Tanaka, was on a ship that found against my grandfather's ship. Yoshiaka's son came to live in Jacksonville with us awhile ago, and I see him in Tokyo [we email multiple times a year].

It's really a cool dynamic. That said, Japan's post war populace is not homogenous, and there is a very strong contingent of Japanese who feel very strongly about the war, in a very negative [to Americans, Korean, Chinese] sense.

I like to think of Japan as our brother from another mother. Their outlook on the world, and their region in particular, reminds me a lot of the US.

A must see for anyone going to Tokyo, especially the wing of the Imperial War Museum dedicated to Kamikaze pilots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasukuni_Shrine